##### 🔑 The mind can only hold so much Our [[💡 Working Memory|Working Memory]] can only hold a small amount of information at a time (a maximum of about seven things at once) and for a short period,[^1] and we can only *really* [[💡 Focus & Concentration|focus]], on one thing at a time. When our [[💡 Cognitive Load|Cognitive Load]] exceeds our [[💡 Working Memory|Working Memory]]’s capacity (such as when we’re [[💡 Emotional Dysregulation|dysregulated]] or [[💡 Overwhelm|overwhelmed]]), it becomes *exceedingly* difficult or even impossible to [[⭐️ Learning|⭐️ Learn]] or do things — even [[💡 Habits|Habits]] and [[Practices 🕯️]] we’ve had for years. ###### Multitasking is a myth What we call multitasking is the repeated and frequent transition between multiple tasks. Multitasking is highly stimulating and can feel more [[💡 Productivity|productive]], but stimulation is not [[💡 Focus & Concentration|focus]]. To [[💡 Focus & Concentration|focus]], is to concentrate one's attention, multitasking diffuses our attention while expending mental energy through stimulation. We actually are less efficient, we get less done, and [[💡 Memory|retain]] significantly less because we are spreading our attention too thinly, "a mile wide but an inch deep." Being mentally distracted by [[💡 Stress]], [[💡 Anxiety]], or [[💡 Depression|depressive thoughts]] is a kind of involuntary multitasking. We might skip a step in our daily routine, forget why we entered a room or where we put something, we might forget a simple word and fear we're losing our minds. Our mind isn't lost, it's just doing too much. This makes [[⭐️ Learning]] almost impossible. ###### Related - [[💡 Blending]] - [[💡 Zeigarnik Effect]] - [[💡 ADHD]] - [[💡 Trauma]] - [[🕯️ Journaling]] - [[🕯️ Meditation 🧘]] - [The Monkey Business Illusion](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGQmdoK_ZfY) - [[Dunbar’s Number]] [^1]: [[📖 🟠 Spark - The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain]]